19. The Sun
i. The Nutshell
Upright
The Sun appears, opens all the windows, and tells you it’s time to breathe freely. This card represents vibrant life energy. After the uncertainty of The Moon, The Sun shines with joy and clarity. It offers honest optimism, allowing you to be real and authentic. You can confidently show your true self because your happiness and success come without conditions. The Sun brings new beginnings, warmth, and a feeling of safety in being yourself. The sun links you to your abundant inner energy, felt in your solar plexus chakra, urging expression and presence. You possess what others desire so share your light widely. Embrace this vitality and trust the divine for positive expression.
Keywords: Joy, clarity, vitality, confidence, childlike freedom, fun, success, radiant truth
Translation: You’re allowed to be happy without apologising for it.
Reversed
The reversed Sun can mean you’re wearing your sunglasses at night because the brightness feels overwhelming. You might feel dimmed, doubt your worth, or overthink every good thing like it’s a trap. Joy feels suspicious and your success is unearned. You’re too exhausted to follow the light even though it’s already shining on you. It’s also the hangover of forced positivity and toxic sunshine. You don't need to force a smile to feel brighter, just allow the warmth in gradually. The sun still shines behind the clouds, even after a setback.
Alternatively, check in with your ego to ensure it’s not over-hyping you up asking you to fake it to make it. Identify the root cause of any masks before you swap them out for authenticity. And finally, this reversal can urge you to reconnect with your inner child if you’ve been overdoing the adulting. If you’ve been forgetting how or when to have fun, reconnect with what lit you up as a child, or give yourself the OK to step off the treadmill and do something that makes you smile.
Keywords: Dampened joy, burnout, inner child, egocentric, imposter syndrome, dimming your light, delayed clarity
Translation: You’re standing in the sun but pretending it’s just a flashlight. Let it in.
ii. Illus-traits
A symbolic glance of The Sun in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck:
The Sun – Literal spotlight. No shadows to hide in or secrets to fester. It’s radiant and unfiltered truth which can be a bit blinding if you’ve grown used to the dark.
Child on Horseback – Innocence of the inner child’s spirit. The white horse represents safety, purity and strength.
Red Banner – Victory, celebration of vitality, passion and the confidence to thrive without apology.
Sunflowers – Solar-powered identity. These flowers turn toward the light and you need to do the same.
Wall – Boundaries that nourish so your inner sanctum is joyously secure and feels safe.
iii. Influences
Planetary
Naturally, the Sun rules The Sun and is the core of your chart representing your life force, ego, and conscious identity. It represents clarity, willpower, and the drive to express your true self. It’s how you face the world on a daily basis and represents your vitality: where it shines in your chart; you radiate. The Sun represents who you are when you’re fully awake to your purpose.
Natal House(s)
The Sun shines in the Fifth House: a place of joy, self-expression, creativity, and being recognised. It's all about embracing your inner child, whether you're creating art, enjoying your own humour, or wanting to be in the spotlight - this is where you truly want to shine.
Astrological Sign(s)
The Sun card represents Leo energy, showcasing strength, stability, and a strong sense of identity. Leo should never tone down their brightness or apologise for it. This is spot light stuff, so think performers, actors and heart-centered leadership with artistic flair. If Leo is the performer, The Sun card is the stage complete with standing ovation.
Numerologically
The Sun is card 19, reducing to 10, then 1 - an echo of both culmination and new beginnings. It's the part of the cycle where clarity arrives via a confetti cannon. You’ve been stuffing your musket and your life is showing you reward and asking you to lead the parade. It’s the grown-up Fool who is now walking the path less travelled, asserting independence, being innovative, expressive, fun, joyful and self motivated.
Element
As a Fire card, The Sun brings warmth, energy and visibility to remind you that joy is a renewable force. Embodiment is the practice so laugh loudly and take up space. Follow whatever lights you up like a sunflower tracks the Sun.
iv. A Day in the Life of The Sun
Well That Escalated Quickly
You've stumbled into a children's birthday party for your soul, and you're the main act. Everything is oddly cheerful, making you question if you've truly achieved something or just overindulged in coffee. The joy feels strange, and you're looking for hidden flaws. Smiling so much is uncomfortable. Is this happiness or heatstroke? Hard to tell. You want to be creative and buy art supplies, but they just sit there unused, and you can't figure out why.
Adjusting the Knobs
Okay, maybe happiness isn't a trap. You've stopped worrying and started enjoying your emotions. You're trying out hope, excitement, and sharing your true wishes. Being vulnerable still feels strange, and you're carefully embracing it like a special jacket. You’ve started painting by numbers and have noticed your inner critic has got louder.
Unsubscribed from Self-Sabotage
You’re flourishing, and weirdly okay with that being witnessed. Confidence no longer feels like a BGT audition and more a side effect of not gaslighting yourself every day. You feel grounded and have boundaries that aren’t 10,000 volt T-Rex fences, and joy is your baseline. Who even are you? You’ve even got your artwork on the wall and not cringing.
Writing the TED Talk
You’ve turned your life into a radiant coming-of-age story with chapter titles like How I Stopped Apologising for Being Happy and Turns Out I’m Actually Great at Life. You’re following the light by knowing you’re part of it. You glow, you know where the plug is, and you’re aware that being seen doesn’t mean being judged. You've found your painting talent, which was made fun of in childhood, and you're now creating semi-professional pieces you may exhibit someday soon.
v. Working with these Energies
Living The Sun by Letting It Shine
The Sun brings vitality, optimism, and clarity, showing you that you’re okay. Embrace the opportunity to stop squinting and let your soul shine.
1. Celebrate Without a Reason
– When was the last time you felt joy without earning it?
– What would it look like to validate your existence without a productivity report?
– If life gave you a standing ovation today, what would you stay on stage for?
2. Reintroduce Yourself to Yourself
– Who are you when you’re not trying to impress, defend, or explain?
– What talents or quirks have you outgrown hiding?
– If your inner child threw a party, what would they be celebrating?
3. Back Away from the Dimmer Switch
– Where do you tone yourself down so others feel more comfortable?
– What version of you feels the most alive, and what makes that version part-time?
– Who benefits when you shine fully?
4. Trust the Warmth
– What if joy is a magnet?
– Which compliments do you brush off that you could accept?
– Where is it safe for you to be seen more often?
5. Stay Lit Through Unease
– What daily practices remind you that you’re allowed to enjoy your life?
– Where do you feel most magnetic, authentic, or simply plain good?
– How can you carry that light into the moments that feel grey around the edges?
vi. Building Skills
Building Skills Without Spontaneous Combustion
The Sun invites radiant self-expression but that can feel exposing if you’re used to hiding behind self-deprecating humour. Consider this ACT-aligned exercise to integrate The Sun’s life-force:
Values Check-In - Each morning, ask: What do I want to stand for today? Not what you ‘should’ do as shoulds belong to someone else’s opinion rather than your own - but that which reflects your core vitality?
Defusion from Ego-Traps - Notice thoughts of being ‘too much’. Label them and say them in a silly voice or sing them to a nursery rhyme. This disarms the inner critic trying to eclipse your light.
Ten Seconds of Boldness - Do one small thing daily that feels true but slightly risky, like wearing the louder shirt, or giving someone an honest compliment, or posting the thing you’d usually second-guess. Let authenticity be a muscle to grow.
Embodied Presence - Practice a one-minute sun salutation or stand with arms outstretched like a starfish. Physically take up space ensuring your body gets the message before your mind does.
vii. Embodiment
Learn to Live in the Light.
If you're not used to The Sun's energy, it can give you confidence that feels strange, like you’ve only relied on deep inner work. Learn to embrace happiness without fearing consequences by embodying its positive energy.
Smell:
What does radiance smell like? Grass underfoot, sunscreen and possibility? Breathe it in.
Body:
Where does your joy land today? A racing heart? A buzzing behind your ribs? Place your attention there. Let pleasure be informative because you’re a human solar panel.
Soundtrack:
Pick music that makes you feel alive. Drums, choirs, strings, brass - anything that stirs you into movement. Let the music soundtrack your victories.
Action:
Do something delightfully unnecessary such as dancing in the kitchen, wear the bright thing you bury or, laugh ‘too’ loudly. Let this practise honour your life force.
Nature Cue:
Stand in the sun, if possible, or use a light therapy device. Notice how it affects your temperature, posture, and mood. This is science and reality.
Notice What’s Lighting You Up:
What’s going well for you? What joy seems too easy to believe? Pure joy is your soul’s natural state. Let it shine without questioning it.
viii. Your Impressions
Look at The Sun card in your own deck if possible. Take a moment to observe without overthinking.
Where does your attention go first? The radiant child on the horse? The smiling sun? The wall of sunflowers that never skipped therapy? Notice the clarity and presence.
Notice what awakens in you. Is it peace, discomfort, or simple joy? Let your sun rise.
Check your body. Are your shoulders relaxed? Is there a lightness in your chest? This may be what feeling the light is.
ix. Intuitive Meaning
This card suggests that your transformation is now your starting point. If The Sun keeps appearing in your readings, consider what part of yourself is ready to be revealed without hiding.
Where have you trusted joy despite impracticality and been vindicated in ways science can't prove?
Where are you mistaking dimmed-down comfort for safety, when what you really need to be is full on solar-noon?
What truth about your brilliance are you ready to stop downplaying?
Applied Insight with a Three-Card Reading with The Sun Blazing your Trail
Where are you thriving but pretending it’s luck?
What part of you deserves to take up more space whether publicly or privately?
What does joy want to guide, even if it disturbs your carefully managed identity?
Pull or shuffle-fling your cards and note your feelings. Take your time and let the answers unfold. Write three ‘you’ words that relate to your current experience:
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x. Closing Reflection: Track Your Evolving Lens
Your relationship with each card will grow over time because it’s meant to shaped by your life. Consider the prompts below to revisit and reflect.
What I thought this card meant when I first pulled it: —————————————————
A recent experience that changed how I see it: —————————————————
How I feel about it now, in my body or life: —————————————————
What surprised me as this card kept showing up: —————————————————
One way this card is living in my life right now: —————————————————
If this card visited me today as a guide, what would it want me to remember? —————————————————
Revisit these after a week, a moon phase, or a meaningful moment. Let the card evolve as you do.
If you feel a quiet sense of recognition, curiosity and want to explore it, browse the sessions page for what feels right.